STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. - An off-duty firefighter from Staten Island is accused of violating a court's keep-away order that prohibits him from contacting his wife.

Police in the Mid-Island's 122nd Precinct on Wednesday arrested Thomas Gerrish, 49, of Hunter Avenue in Grant City. The NYPD Deputy Commissioner for Public Information's office issued a statement Wednesday announcing the arrest.

According to an NYPD spokeswoman, Gerrish is accused of calling his wife's cell phone two times, and leaving a note on her car, despite a Family Court order of protection barring him from contacting her.

The criminal complaint against Gerrish only refers to the alleged phone calls, and prosecutors have formally charged him with two counts of criminal contempt, not three, as police had originally charged.

The first call came from an unknown number at 2:40 p.m. Saturday, when the complaint alleges that Gerrish "attempted to engage in a conversation" with his wife. The second came from a blocked number on Monday at 10:58 a.m., and the complaint alleges, Gerrish begged her to speak to him.

The court order was handed down on Thursday, according to the complaint.

According to the complaint, he and his wife have been married for 20 years and they have four children.

He was arraigned in Stapleton Criminal Court Wednesday and released on his own recognizance until his next court date.

When contacted Wednesday, Gerrish declined comment on the charges, saying only that it was a family matter.

Gerrish is a 17-year FDNY veteran, and is assigned to a firehouse on Staten Island, FDNY spokesman James Long said. The department is currently evaluating the charges against him before taking any job action against him, Long said.

Gerrish was lauded as the Advance's Firefighter of the Month in September 2006.

The award stemmed from an incident from July of that year. He and another firefighter were off duty when they saw smoke from a burning Great Kills townhouse while they were driving on Hylan Boulevard. They made a U-turn and rushed into the fire, rescuing a cat they found in the bedroom.